Refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit having at least one chilled inner space for receiving refrigerated goods or frozen goods, wherein the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit is designed with at least one lighting means and with at least one receiver for holding one or more information labels, in particular price labels, preferably related to the refrigerated good or frozen good. In accordance with the invention, the lighting means are arranged relative to the receiver such that they illuminate the information label located in the receiver or such that the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit is designed with at least one display on which at least on piece of information, preferably related to the refrigerated good or frozen good, is reproduced or can be reproduced, with the lighting means and the receiver or the display forming integral components of the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit.

The present invention relates to a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unithaving at least one chilled inner space for receiving refrigerated goodsor frozen goods.

It is known from the prior art, in particular with supermarket chests,to carry out the price labeling in separate components which are placedon and in which the price labels are inserted. This procedure bringsabout the disadvantage that separate components are required forreceiving the price labels. There is a further disadvantage in that theprice labels may only be difficult to recognize depending on the lightconditions in the environment of the chest.

It is therefore the underlying object of the present invention tofurther develop a refrigerator unit or freezer unit of the initiallynamed kind such that it has a comparatively simple design and such thatit is ensured that the information labels are easy to read.

This object is achieved by a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unithaving the features of claim 1.

Provision is accordingly made that the refrigerator unit and/or freezerunit is designed with at least one lighting means and with at least onereceiver for holding one or more information labels, in particular pricelabels, preferably related to the refrigerated good or frozen good,wherein the lighting means are arranged relative to the receiver suchthat they illuminate the information label located in the receiver.

Provision can alternatively or additionally be made that therefrigerator unit and/or freezer unit is designed with at least onedisplay on which at least one piece of information which is preferablyrelated to the refrigerated good or frozen good is or can be reproduced.

Provision is furthermore made in accordance with the invention that thelighting means and the receiver or the display form integral componentsof the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit.

Provision is thus made in accordance with the invention that therefrigerator unit or freezer unit has at least one lighting means and atleast one receiver for an information label, wherein the lighting meansis configured such that it illuminates the receiver or the informationlabel located in the receiver. The receiver and the lighting means arenot installed as separate attachments to the refrigerator unit orfreezer unit, but are rather components of the refrigerator unit orfreezer unit.

This applies accordingly to the use of a display which can be usedalternatively or additionally to the lighting means and the receiversand on which information, in particular price information, likewisepreferably relating to the refrigerated good or frozen good can bereproduced.

It is ensured both by the illuminated information label and by thedisplay that the information such as the price or other information inparticular relating to the refrigerated good or frozen good is easy toread even if the receiver or the display is located at the side of theunit remote from the user such as in the rear region of a chestrefrigerator or chest freezer.

The reproduced information can generally be such information which has areference to the stored refrigerated good or frozen good such as pricesor also other information such as the refrigerator space temperature orfreezer space temperature.

Provision is made in a further embodiment of the invention that thelighting means and the receiver or the display are arranged in the rearside, rear region of the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit, i.e. inthe side remote from the user. In this case, the user has a goodoverview of the goods located in a refrigerator chest or freezer chestas well as simultaneously of the information relating to the good or ofother information and in particular of its price.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the refrigerator unit and/orfreezer unit is a refrigerator chest and/or freezer chest.

This can have a cover frame which forms the upper termination of thecarcass. One or more sliding covers can, for example, be arranged in thecover frame and can be pushed by a user so that he gains access to thechilled inner space of the unit. The lighting means and the receiver orthe display are preferably arranged in the cover frame.

It is conceivable in this respect that the cover frame has a plane whichis inclined with respect to the horizontal and in which the receiverand/or the display is/are located. It is, for example, conceivable thatthe angle with respect to which the receiver or the display is inclinedwith respect to the horizontal lies in the range between 30 and 80°.This allows a better recognizability of the presented information for auser located in front of the unit.

Provision is made in a further embodiment of the invention that thelighting means are arranged relative to the receiver such that theinformation label located in the receiver is back-lit by the lightingmeans. Provision is preferably made that the information labels aretransparent or translucent so that they can be shone through from behindand the printing located thereon is easily recognizable.

Provision is made in a further embodiment of the invention that thenamed receiver for the information label or labels is preferablyreleasably fixed at the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit andpreferably at the above-named cover strip of a chest refrigerator orchest freezer by a latch connection or also by another connection.

Provision can furthermore be made that the lighting means are formed byone or more LEDs, in particular by at least one LED strip, or also byone or more fluorescent tubes, incandescent lamps, etc.

The receiver can be configured such that the information label or labelsis/are pushed into it or can be pushed into it.

Provision is made in a furthermore embodiment of the invention that oneor more information labels are arranged in the at least one receiver andthat these information labels are, as stated above, configured as atleast regionally transparent or translucent so that it is possible toshine through them, or backlight them.

The receiver can have a larger extent than a single information label.It can in particular be configured in strip form and serve the receptionof a plurality of information labels arranged next to one another.

The lighting means can preferably be designed such that they emit alight cone which illuminates or backlights the entire information label.It is also conceivable to provide at least one scattering element oranother optically active element which distributes the light areallyover the at least one information label.

The present invention preferably relates to chest refrigerators and/orchest freezers which are used in the commercial sector, but is notlimited thereto.

Due to the fact that the display or the lighting means and the receiverare a fully integrated component of the unit and are not installed atthe unit as separate attachments, the number of required elements isreduced, on the one hand, and the visual appearance of the unit, inparticular of the chest, is designed considerably more harmoniously, onthe other hand.

As stated above, provision is made that the lighting or backlighting, inparticular of price labels and the receiver for the price labels or forother information labels are components of the unit. They can bereplaced by a display which preferably forms an information area fullyintegrated into the cover frame of a chest refrigerator and/or chestfreezer. The display can be used in addition to the lighting means andto the receivers.

Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained inmore detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. Thereare shown:

FIG. 1: a perspective view of a rear corner region of a chestrefrigerator or chest receiver; and

FIG. 2: a sectional representation through the rear region of a coverframe of a chest refrigerator and/or chest freezer in accordance withthe invention.

The carcass of a chest refrigerator or chest freezer is marked by thereference numeral 10 in FIG. 1. Its upper termination is formed by thecover frame 20 in which one or more sliding covers 30 are displaceablyarranged.

The rear region of the cover frame 20 projects upwardly from the planeof the cover frame 20 in the form of a projection 22 extending in thewidth direction of the chest. The lighting means and the receivers forthe information labels or the named display are located in thisprojection 22. The upwardly projecting region 22 can extend over thetotal width or over a part section of the width of the unit.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the plane in which the receiver forthe information label is located does not lie in the horizontal, but isinclined with respect thereto, e.g. by an angle of approx. 70°-80°.

The lighting means are marked by the reference numeral 40 and thereceivers for the price labels 60 by the reference numeral 50. Thelighting means 40 and the receivers 50 are fully integrated componentsof the cover frame 20 or of the named projection 22.

The receiver 50 is designed as transparent or translucent to ensure thevisibility of the price labels or other information labels 60 and toprovide the possibility of lighting them from behind.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the lighting means 20 are located behind thereceiver 50 so that the price labels 60 located in the receiver 50 areilluminated from behind.

As can also be seen from the sectional representation in accordance withFIG. 2, a defined construction space 100 is located behind the receiversection 50 and allows a full-areal backlighting of the labels 60coordinated with the light cone of the illumination source 20. The lightcone emanating from the lighting means 40 is marked by the broken linein FIG. 2. As can be seen from FIG. 2, said light cone is dimensionedsuch that the entire information label or price label 60 is backlit.

As can furthermore be seen from FIG. 2 and also from FIG. 1, theconstruction space 100 also serves the reception of the lighting source20 which can, for example, be designed as an LED, a fluorescent tube, anincandescent lamp, etc.

To design this construction space 100 in as small a manner as possible,a scattering element can also be introduced in a further embodiment todistribute the light as areally as possible and, where possible, overthe total area of the price label 60.

As can further be seen from FIG. 2 the cover frame of the chestrefrigerator or chest freezer has a fixing region 28 for fixing thereceiver 50. The receiver, which can be designed, for example, fromglass or acrylic glass, has resilient projections 52 which latch intocorresponding recesses of the cover frame 20 or of its fixing region 28.It is possible in this manner to release the receiver from the coverframe and to replace it with another receiver as required.

As can furthermore be seen from FIG. 2, the receiver 50 has agroove-shaped insertion section 58 in which the price label or the otherinformation label 60 is received. The insertion section 58 is formed, onthe one hand, by the side of the base body 55 of the receiver facing theuser and, on the other hand, by the tab 56 resiliently attached thereto.

The lighting means 40 can be designed, for example, as an LED stripwhich extends parallel to or along the receiver.

An embodiment is generally also covered by the invention in which thereceiver is not releasably fixed, but is fixedly fixed to the carcass,and in particular to the cover frame of a chest refrigerator and/orchest freezer.

1. A refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit comprising at least onechilled inner space for receiving refrigerated goods or frozen goods,wherein the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit includes at least onelighting means and at least one receiver for holding one or moreinformation labels relating to the refrigerated good and/or frozen good,with the lighting means being arranged relative to the receiver suchthat they illuminate the information label located in the receiver; orthe refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit includes at least one displayon which at least one piece of information relating to the refrigeratedgood or frozen good, is reproduced or can be reproduced, with thelighting means and the receiver or the display forming integralcomponents of the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit.
 2. Arefrigerator unit and/or freezer unit in accordance with claim 1,wherein the lighting means and the receiver or the display are locatedin the rear region of the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit.
 3. Arefrigerator unit and/or freezer unit in accordance with claim 1 whereinthe refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit is a chest refrigerator and/orchest freezer.
 4. A refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit in accordancewith claim 3, wherein the chest refrigerator and/or chest freezer has acover frame forming the upper termination of the carcass; and in thatthe lighting means and the receiver or the display are arranged in thecover frame.
 5. A refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the lighting means are arranged relative to thereceiver such that the information label located in the receiver isbacklit by the lighting means.
 6. A refrigerator unit and/or freezerunit in accordance with claim 1 wherein the receiver is preferablyreleasably fixed to the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit by a latchconnection.
 7. A refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the lighting means are formed by one or more LEDs,in particular by at least one LED strip or by one or more fluorescenttubes.
 8. A refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit in accordance claim 1wherein the receiver is configured such that the information label orlabels is/are inserted therein or can be inserted therein.
 9. Arefrigerator unit and/or freezer unit in accordance with claim 1,wherein one or more information labels are arranged in the at least onereceiver; and in that these information label are designed as at leastregionally transparent or translucent.
 10. A refrigerator unit and/orfreezer unit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the receiver has alarger extent than an information label and is in particular configuredin strip form.
 11. A refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the information label contains price information.